Gervasoni Family Bull Boar Sausage

The Bull Boar Sausage is a culinary legacy left by Swiss Italian immigrants who settled in Daylesford during the 1850's Victorian gold rush. This unique sausage has a very distinctive taste. It comprises equal portions of beef and pork and heavily laden with sweet spices. Every Swiss Italian family in the district had their own closely guarded secret recipe and is the reason why this Daylesford specialty is facing extinction and now holds a place on the Slow Food Ark of Taste.

This is the original Gervasoni recipe which makes 10kg worth of Sausages, however, can be easily halved or doubled for larger or smaller quantities. To make this recipe, you will need a meat mincer and natural sausage casings. If this is your first time making sausages, I suggest having a person experienced at making them on hand to help you (cooking with friends is much more fun anyway) or at the very least a chat with your butcher.

For the sake of authenticity and a sense of nastalgia, I recommend following the handwritten method. I have metricated all of the ingredients for your convenience below. Happy cooking!

Ingredients

5kg pork

5kg beef

1 lt red wine

25-50 garlic cloves

175g salt

50g white pepper

50g mixed spice

25g cinnamon

5tsp clove

5tsp nutmeg

While I am sure that the Gervasoni's recommendation to serve the Bull Boars with bread and vegetables is delicious, I have been delinquent and veered off the traditional recipe here. Rather then preparing the Bull Boars in line with the recommended serving suggestion, I decided to blanch then bake them in a rich tomato sauce and serve them with soft polenta and sautéed chicory. I am unsure if the Gervasoni's would be impressed with my modification, however I did stay true to the sausage recipe and only changed the cooking method and serving suggestion. According to my research, polenta was a staple in Northern Italy throughout the 1800's and wild bitter greens were commonly foraged. Hopefully my version is not a big faux pas.

Baked sausages in Tomato Sauce

1kg authentic Bull Boar Sausages (made using the above recipe) or from a reputable Daylesford butcher like the Albert Street Butchery.

2 large brown onions, thinly sliced

700ml tomato passata

1 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp Flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Soft Polenta

500ml milk

180g instant polenta

50g butter

50g aged Asiago cheese or Pecorino Romano, finely grated.

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Sautéed Chicory

500g chicory

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, sliced

1 tsp white sugar

1 pinch salt and pepper

20ml lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees, fan forced. Blanch the Bull Boars for 3 – 4 minutes in a large pot of boiling water. Set aside.

2. Make the tomato sauce by frying the onion and garlic in a hot pan with olive oil until translucent. Add passata, sugar and salt then bring to a fast simmer. Reduce temperature and allow the sauce to simmer slowly for ten minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Distribute the sauce between 4-6 small individual terracotta baking dishes (or one large baking dish) then place sausages on top of the tomato sauce. Bake for 10 minutes or until browned on top *.

4. Meanwhile, for the soft polenta bring milk and 600mls water to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add the polenta while whisking continuously until thick (2-3 minutes). Add butter, salt, pepper and Asiago or Pecorino and whisk to combine.

5. Once the sausages are cooked, scatter with parsley then put them aside to rest for 5 minutes. Add olive oil to a large sauté pan over high heat. Sauté chicory and garlic for one minute. Add sugar and season to taste. Cook for an additional 30 seconds or until sugar has fully dissolved and the chicory is tender. Remove from heat and dress with lemon juice.

6. Serve Bull Boars with the soft polenta and sautéed chicory.

*As Bull Boars do not contain as much fat as more common sausage varieties, I suggest wrapping the sausages in pancetta to help it to retain some moisture. Also the baked pancetta adds a delightful crunchy texture to the dish.

Enjoy!